Filing cabinet



March 6,1945. c z HUBBELL' 2,370,664

FILING CABINET Filed Spt, 4, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 6, 1945. c. z. HUBBELL 2,370,664

- FILING CABINET Filed Sept. 4, 1940 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5 v 57 55 6I7CLARENCE INVENTOR March 6, 1945.

" F/aa c. z. I- -IUBBELL 2,370,664 IIFILING CABINET Filed Sept. 4, 1940 4 SheetsSheet 3 CLARHVCE' z. HUBBELL INVENTOR Patented Mar. c.1945

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- mii'ii'im Clarence z. nubbeu, Johnson City, N. Y.

4,'1340, Serial No. 355,336 1 Claim. Cl. 45-2) Application September This invention relates to filing cabinets and more particularly'to vertical filing cabinets hav- Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 6- -6 of Fig. 4 showing the bottom suping a plurality of. slidable dustproofdrawers in j which are hung a series of horizontal hangers for supporting large drawings, tracings, maps andt other sheet material in a fiat,undamaged condition.

An object of the invention is to provide, a cabinet of this character which will support a large' number of sizable drawings and tracings in such a manner that any one sheet may be quickly and readily removed from its hanger without disturbing the remainder of the drawings in the file.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means for pivotally supporting the series of horizontal hangers in such a manner that when one of the vertical drawers is extended, the hangers may be spread apart in a fan-like manher to permit easy access to any drawing or tracing within the compartment.

A still further object is the provision of rack and pinion mechanism and guide and weight bearing rollers so arranged at the top and bottom of the slidable vertical drawers that the drawers may be easily, quietly and rapidly moved back and forth between their closed and extended Dositions without tilting or binding and will be firmly supported in their fully extended position for the removal of the desired data.

Another important object of the invention'resides in the provision of the hereindescribed novel construction and operation of the drawing hangers which permit a large number of sheets to be properly filed in a comparatively small space and yet allow any individual hanger to be opened at the desired point for the removal of a selected the line 4--4 of Fig. 1;

sheet, while securely retaining all of the other sheets in proper position within the opened hanger.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet unit with one vertical drawer extended and in partially open position; v

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section taken on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1, but showing the drawer in a closed and locked position; j

Fig. 3 'is a top plan view partly in cross-section of one of the vertical drawers, its rack and pinion mechanism taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the bottom guide structure and supporting mechanism taken on' Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 5- 5 of Fig. 3 showingthe top guide mechanism; v

porting rack with its meshing pinion and the guide and weight bearing rollers;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showing the details of construction of one of the hangers with its sheet selector, sheet holding springs and cover clamp springs; r

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-section of the sheet holder taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal'cross-section takenon line 9-9 of Fig. 7' showing the operation of the holding springs and selector;

Fig. 10 is also a fragmentary horizontal cross- 7 section showing the second holding spring. and taken on line l0l0 of Fig. '7; I

Fig. 11 is a vertical cross-section of the hanger and sheet holder taken on line Il--Il of Fig. 7

and showing the position of the sheet selector and holding springs;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of one of the hanger pivot pins with a portion of the hanger and cover springs shown'in dotted lines; and

, Fig. 13 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-section through one'of the hanger pivot pins and its support with one of the cover springs shown in two relative positions.

Essentially, the present invention comprises a metal casing lof any suitable size for the reception 'of one or more vertical slidably mounted drawers 2. These drawers may be constructed of sheet metal of a suitable gauge and are prefera'bly'narrow in width as compared to their vertical dimension. The file drawers 2 .are formed by a plurality of sheets welded around their peripheries to one side wall with the opposite side wall or door 3 hinged at one rear edge 4 and provided with a lock 5 at the free end thereof. To insure that each of the drawers will be dustproof; it is preferable to insert a yieldable sealing strip 6 around the edges thereof in such a manner that when the doors 3 are closed and locked the file is completely-sealed.

Each of the vertical drawers is supported at its top and bottom within the casing I by means of. anti-friction sliding supports, guides, pinions and racks which insure the easy and rapid reciprocation of the drawers within the casing. This mechanism also insures the free movement of the drawers from closed to open position without any lateral or vertical play or binding and further effects the proper support of the drawers in all positions. The manner of accomplishing this is disclosed in detail in Figs. 3 to -6, inclusive and will be hereinafter more fully described.

With particular reference to Fig. of the drawings, the upper edge of the fixed side wall portions l3 secured to the inside side walls thereof in the plane with and spaced from the corresponding members H. A horizontal plate or slide I5 is normally positioned near the bottom of the channel l2 and carried partially by a plurality of longitudinally spaced horizontal rollers l8 rotatably mounted on vertical pins l9 secured to the plate l5, and partially by corresponding geared rollers 35 similarly secured to the plate,

the rollers l8 and 35 being provided with flanges to retain them in engagement with said guide and rack tracks respectively. The rear-most roller of the series of geared rollers 35 is fixed upon the reduced end of a vertical shaft which extends downwardly and is connected to the bottom supporting and driving mechanism as will be hereinafter described.

The bottom of the vertical drawer is formed by a depending U-shaped plate having its lower edges 26 inturned to support a horizontal, inwardly extending rack track 21 and a spaced guide track 21w.

Centrally arranged at the bottom of the drawer is a longitudinally extending guide member 28 having a horizontally extending rack portion 29,

an oppositely extending plain guide surface 29a,

an upwardly extending guide track 30, and a downwardly extending supporting surface 30a. Angle irons 3| and 3la are positioned in spaced relation on either side of the guide member 28 and slightly above the plane of the rack and guide surfaces 29 and 23a, their upwardly extending portions being connected by a bearing pin 33 which, in turn, carries a series of longitudinally spaced weight bearing rollers 82 adapted to ride upon the upper guide track 30. Attached to each of the-oppositely extending horizontal sides of the angle irons 3| and 31aare upstanding brackets 31, each of which carries a bearing pin 31a and upon which, in turn, are mounted a series of rollers 38. The rollers 36 are adapted to ride upon the upper surfaces of tracks 21 and 21a. and to bear upon the underside 25 of the drawer bottom, the parts being so arranged that these rollers assist in both carrying the weight of the drawer and in preventing it from tilting either upwardly or downwardly.

The horizontal lateral portion of'the angle iron 3la is provided with a series of longitudinally spaced horizontal geared rollers 35, one of which is fixed to the vertical shaft 20, and all of which mesh with the spaced rack tracks 21 and 29. The horizontal lateral portion of the angle iron 3| is provided with a corresponding series of longitudinaliy spaced horizontal plain guide rollers a adapted to roll'between the guide tracks 21a and 29a. Spaced depending brackets 40a and Ma attached to angle irons 3| and 31a, respectively are provided with bearing pins 42a and a which carry a plurality of pairs of laterally spaced weight bearing rollers 43a and 45a whichare adapted to ride alongthe underside of the .75

gamete guides 29 and 23a to aid further in preventing the drawer from tipping upwardly at any time.

It will thus be noted that by the careful arrangement of tracks, guides and rollers as above -set forth, the drawers may be easily moved to open or closed position without tilting, twisting, or binding at any time. It should also be pointed out that inasmuch as the geared rollers 35, one at the top and one at the bottom of each of the drawers, are fixed to the opposite ends of the vertical connecting shaft 20, both the upper and lower portions of the drawers must move together and in synchronism, thus further preventing any possibility of binding.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the plate I 2 and angle irons 3i and 3m respectively, overlie and underlie the drawer when it is in its fully retracted position and as the drawer is rolled toward its open or extended position, both the top and bottom slides move outwardly about. half their length where their motion is arrestedand the drawer is in fully extended position so that the pivoted door 3 may be swung open to expose the interior thereof.

The back of each drawer is formed by a vertically extending channel member til which may be welded to the side wall of the drawer and positioned at an angle to rather than parallel to the front wall and extending from the pivot 4 of the door 3 toward the-opposite wall of the drawer. Each of these back walls 40 is suitably perforated as at 3 for the reception of a plurality of vertical pivots 4i having laterally extending vertical arms 42 welded in the openings 43. Additional pivots may, if desired, be alternately spaced. between the upper pivots at any desired height, such as shown in Fig. 1, to accommodate drawings of smaller size and to further take advantage of all the available space in the drawers.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 11 which show the sheet hangers in more detail, it is preferable to support each hanger on a tube or a rod having an end 5| formedwith a vertical socket 52 therein for the reception of a vertical pivot pin M. 'A pair of depending cover members 53 are hinged upon the horizontal tube 50 with the free ends of the cover members folded back upon themselves in spaced relation and terminating on either side of alternating angle members 54. This construction permits one side of the pivoted cover to be opened or raised, as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 11.

Numeral 55 denotes the tracings or drawings held between a pair of covers on pairs of pins 56 that are positioned on alternating covers adjacent the front and rear edges thereof. These pins are rigidly fixed to their respective covers and extend through suitable perforations in the tracings or drawings to the opposite cover so that normally each sheet is hung on at least four sturdy pins. As before stated, the side covers 53 are formed of two thicknesses slightly spaced from one another with this distance maintained by rivets 51. The object of this spacing is, first, for the reception of a pair of spaced apart spring clips 60 whose spaced arms 6] are inserted between the walls of the side covers at the rear edgesthereof, forming a yieldable lock. Between thearms 6|, the spring clips are formed with a curved bearing surface 82 which rides against the lower portion of the vertical pivot pins 41. At the front edges of each hanger a pair of somewhat similar spring clips 85 are inserted between the side walls of the covers to normally holdthem flat against the sheets 35.

Thus, as clearly illustrated in- Fig. 1 of the drawings, any selected drawer within the cabinet I may be ulled out to its fully extended position whereupon the pivoted side wall 3 may be opened, exposing the entire interior of the drawer. The several pivoted hangers 50 within the drawer may then be swung open in a fanin the ready removal of the desired sheet. The selector 6'! may comprise a pair of slightly spaced fiat parallel surfaces formed by a folded sheet of resilient material and provided with vertical slots 68 therein so that it may be inserted between the sheets and will slide beyond the supporting pins 56. After the selector 6'! has been properly inserted, the front spring clips 65 are to be pulled outwardly until the short arms 66 thereof leave contact with the side of the binder and contact the overhanging lip orf the selector,

whereupon the spring clips are again pushed inwardly riding upon the surface of the selector. The rear spring clipsmay be similarlyvpulled .hanger, a. selector 61 may be employed to assist out and reinserted to 'unlock the sides of the i ing sheets will be firmly and securely held in place until the'single sheet has been replaced and the binder again locked and positioned upon it hanger.

It will be obvious that many modifications in construction, design and operation-may be made without departingfrom the spirit'or scope of this invention as defined by the appended claim. What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: i In combination with a filing cabinet, 9, sliding file drawer, said drawer being :completely walled, one of said walls being a pivotally. mounted side wall to rovide a closure for said drawer, the rear wall of said drawer being angularly disposed with respect to the rfront wall and tapering from one side wall'toward the pivotal mounting of the other sidewall, upper and lower sets of removable sheet supporting hanger racks pivotally connected to said rear wall, said rear wall being provided with pivot supports for each set of said racks with each set lying in a horizontal plane whereby, when pivoted thereon, the free ends of said hanger racks will project one beyond the other within said drawer,,- the racks in said upper and said lower sets being equally spaced one from the other, the pivots of the lower set of racks being disposed in,vertical planes intermediate the pivots of the upper set of racks, the said upper racks being of. equal length and the racks of the said lower set'being substantially shorter than the racks of the up. per set but of equal length with respect to each other, whereby heet material on saidupper racks may overlapsheet material on said lower racks.

. CLARENCE Z. HUBBELL. 

